Green Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Green Engineering - Essay Example The Durst Organization developed and constructed the Four Times Square in New York between 19996 and 1999 (â€Å"Wired New York Meetup Group† 1). There are 48 stories in the building, which makes it the newest, and the greenest skyscraper in Manhattan (â€Å"U.S. Department of Energy† 1). The building was the first green skyscraper in U.S, which continues to track its energy performance with Energy Star (â€Å"The Durst Organization† 1). Overview of Four Times Square Notably, the building presents the application of two principles of Green Engineering. These include principle 1, which reckons that designers need to strive to ensure that all material and energy inputs and outputs are as inherently safe as possible (Anastas and Zimmerman 96). It also presents principle 3, which claims that separation and purification operations should adopt a design that would minimize energy consumption and materials use (Anastas and Zimmerman 96). The Four Times Square building e ntails 1.6 million square feet of environmentally friendly architectural design. Indeed, this was the first green skyscraper and the second tallest building in the U.S. ... Department of Energy† 1). Upon completion, the Four Times Square reflected an environmentally responsible building where the designers examined the construction technology and all building systems for their impact on human health, environment sustainability, and energy reduction (Kaplan1). The evaluation made the building to be the first skyscraper to adopt state-of-the-art standards for energy conservation, indoor air quality, recycling systems, and the use of sustainable manufacturing processes (â€Å"Wired New York Meetup Group† 1). The Four Times Square has environmentally efficient gas-fired absorption chillers and a state of the art curtain wall with excellent shading and insulating performance (â€Å"Wired New York Meetup Group† 1). More so, the residents of the building are responsible of the building where the designers distributed a library of green information and environmental guidelines to the residents and the architects (Kaplan1). In addition, the t enants and their architects had substantial information on how to maximize the building as well as maintain the dream of the designers. Furthermore, the designers guaranteed lower operational costs upon the completion of the building. As such, we can establish that the Conde Nast Building adopts the principles of green engineering where it manifests quality and safe design as well as a promotion of the environmental, energy, and health factors. How the Four Times Square Works The Four Times Square adopts a low-energy design and renewable energy. The lighting at the building is very energy-efficient as it includes high performance fixtures with central controls. Notably, the designers used DOE-2 energy simulation modeling software to establish the most

Ryanair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ryanair - Essay Example Porter suggests that a firm should follow either differentiation strategy or cost-leadership. They do not submit a mission or vision but they continue to be the largest low-cost leader in the European air industry (Box and Byus 2007). This requires an absolute dedication to low-cost performance in every element of the value chain. Thus, they have quick gate turnarounds, non-union operations, their compensation plans are in the form of performance-based incentives, and they fly to secondary airports which too results in cost savings. They have been successful so far because they could compete against the tradition carriers as consumers have become price-conscious. They are able to maintain price advantage and they get most of their bookings online. They replicated the South West Airline model of offering â€Å"no frills† services and focused on the most price-sensitive segment (Leavy 2003). Is Ryanair’s strategy sustainable? Ryanair’s strategy has become questiona ble due to the impact of cost savings in every function. This can be better understood through environmental analysis. Michael Porter has developed a set of tools and framework for environmental analysis. ... Economical The economy of Europe as a whole is stable and the domination of Euro as the common currency adds to stability. The consumers in Europe too are stable so overall the economical factor has low impact on the industry. However, outside Europe the market is undeveloped and these economies are unstable. Moreover, the economic crisis has impacted all low-cost carriers since 2008 which ash prompted stringent actions from the low-cost carriers (Dunn 2009). Social The airline industry depends on the changing consumer demand. Ryanair could succeed so far because of the price-consciousness of the consumers. However, consumer demographics keep changing and the airline has to be cognizant of the changing consumer preference. Even a small price difference can change the mindset of the most loyal consumer. Thus the social factor has a high impact. Technological The technological factor has a low impact because Ryanair has invested in standardized but latest aircrafts. However, they do no t use technology in employee relations or in customer relationship management. Legal This has a high impact as they have been charged by the EU for receiving illegal subsidies for its base airport (O’Higgins 2005). Its website also had several consumer complaints which prompted the airline to shut down the website (O’Higgins 2005). The airline was also in a dispute against the British Airports Authority (BAA) for alleged monopoly abuse over fuel levies. Environmental This has a high impact because ‘climate protection charge’ has been levied against the airline. Frequent landings and take-off on short-haul flights have high impact on the environment (O’Leary 2007). PESTLE Evaluation The external environmental analysis suggests low impact